Terson



(NS Model.)

J. W. PATTERSON. OPERA GLASS RENTAL APPARATUS.

Patented May 24,1892.

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By his Attorneys,

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JAMES WILLIAM PATTERSON, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

OPERA-GLASS-RENTAL APPARATUS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 475,412, dated May 24, 1892.

Application filed December 5, 1889. Serial No. 332,710. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, JAMES WILLIAM PAT- TERSON,a subject of the Queen of Great Britain, residing in New York city, in the county and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Opera- Glass-Rental Apparatus, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to apparatus or devices for use in theaters for the rental to persons in the audience of opera-glasses or other thingssuch as fansupon the payment by the person of a prescribed fee. Such apparatus involve the use of a coin-actuated or coin-controlled look, through the medium of which the opera-glass or other article is attached to a theater-chair or other support. In such apparatus prior to mypresent invention the opera-glasses have been attached to the backs of the theater-chairs, the glass to be rented by any auditor being attached to the back of the chair in front of him, the attachment having usually been efiected by placing the glass in a box normally closed and fastened bya coin-actuated lock. Operaglass boxes thus arranged are subject to the objection that they project from the back of the chairs and are in the way of people passing between the rows of chairs to or from their seats. It has also the further objection that the opera-glass cannot be fastened by a chain to the box-support, for the reason that when in use the fastening-chain would extend across the space or passage between the rows of chairs and would be in the way of persons passing to and from their seats. It is desirable to fasten the opera-glasses by a chain as a safeguard against the glasses being carried away from the theater.

My present invention aims to provide an improved construction and arrangement of apparatus for the renting of opera-glasses which shall be out of the way of persons passing between the rows of chairs, in which the support for the glasses shall be more conveniently arranged and may be more readily used to hold the glass in case the auditor desires to set it down at any time and which also shall admit of the chaining of the glass to its support.

To these ends my invention provides a supporting-standard designed to be fastened to the floor or to some suitable part of the chair and which shall project between the seats and terminate in or be provided with a box, socket, rest, or other support for receivmg the opera-glass, which support shall be arrange close to or against or within the arm of the chair, so that the glass shall be in the most convenient position to the hand of the auditor. The glass is fastened to the support through the medium of a coin-actuated lock, preferably by constructing the support in the form of a box or case, the cover or lid of which is normally locked to it by means of such a lock. Upon the insertion of the prescribed coin the lid is unlocked and is caused to fly open by means of a spring, and in order that it shall be out of the way it is so constructed that the tension of the spring causes it to fly against the exterior of the box. The operaglass is provided with a handle by which it may be held, and to this handle is connected a chain by which it is secured to the support. According to the preferred construction the opposite end of the chain is attached toasliding weight which is movable up or down within the supporting-standard, the latter being made tubular for that purpose. When the opera-glass is in place in the box, the chain is entirely drawn into the standard, and the handle of the glass projects also thereinto. To enable the glass to be dropped into the box in an upright position, so as to take the least room, it is connected to the handle through the medium of. a pivotal connection, which, when the opera-glass is lifted out, admits of the glass being turned horizontally to either side, so that by holding the handle vertically the glass may be conveniently applied to the eye.

Figure l of the accompanying drawings is a side elevation of a theater-chair to which one form of my invention is applied. Fig. 2 is a front view of the chair and two opera-glass supports. Fig. 3 is a vertical section of the supporting-standard and inclosing box on a larger scale, the view looking in the same direction as Fig. 2. Fig. 4. is a vertical section on the line 4. 4 in Fig. 3, showing the construction of the coin-actuated lock. Fig. 5 is a transverse section of the box in the same plane as Fig. 3, showing the opera-glass removed and in use. Fig. 6 is a fragmentary detail view of the chain between the handle and the glass. Fig. 7 is a view similar to Fig. 1, but showing a modified construction.

Let A A designate theater-chairs of any known or suitable construction. Such chairs,

as is well known, are commonly arranged close together side by side and in rows one behind another, sufficient room being left between the rows to admit of the passage of auditors to and from their seats.

According to my invention I provide averr level with the arm A of the chair, as shown in Fig.1, and constitutes, virtually, a continuation thereof. This position is most convenient for the auditor, since the box is directly. at his hand. The standard B and box or holder G'are arranged sufficiently to the rear to be out of the way of the passage between. the successiverows of seats, so that they do not interfere with the passing back and forth;

of the auditors.

The box or holder 0 is constructed with a lid a, hinged to it at b by means of a springhinge, orof a hinge to which acoil-spring is applied in a well-known way, the hinge being constructed with its axis exterior to the box, so that when the cover is thrown open by "the tension of the springit may swing through an arc of approximately two hundred and seventy degrees until it lies flat against the exterior of the box in the manner shown in Fig.5, where it is out of the way. The cover has'a hasp c, which when closed en:

ters anopening d, Fig. 4, and is engaged by a locking bolt or catch e, which is formed;

integrally with or otherwiseconnected to a sliding'plate f, which 'is arranged to slide with a limited movement in aslideway 9, formed in one wall of the box 0, as shown in Figs. 3 and 4. This wall of the box is formed with an open slot h, through which a coin may be inserted. When the prescribed coin is dropped into this slot, it falls to the position indicated by the dotted circle in Fig. 4, where it rests against a shoulderi at the bottom and stands between one end of the sliding plate f and thelend of a pusher-slide j. The latter is'normally pressed outwardly by a spring k and extends outsideof the box 0, its end being preferably turned at right angles, as shown at j in Fig. 4, to form a handle by which to operate it. ,After dropping in the coin the auditor will' press against this handle and 'force the 'slidej to the right in Fig. 4, thereby transmitting motion through the coin to the slide fand pushingthe latter, and with it the bolt or catch e, toward the right sufficiently to move the catch out of en- On top of this standard is mounted the opera-glass holder or support C, which in theconstruction shown is in the. form of a box, into which the opera-glass (designated by D) may be dropped, as shown in Fig. 3. This box is arranged on the same gagement with the hasp g, whereupon the spring-hinge b throws the cover open. The coin is thus moved directly over the coin-conduit h, and upon the release of the slide j the coin drops down through this conduit into a cash-box E, wherein the coins accumulate and from which they are taken at intervals by unlocking and opening this box. This box is shown as constructed as a drawer and fastened by a padlock; but any other construction of cashbox which may be opened only by the use of a special key is admissible. The coin-actuated lock thus described presents no especial novelty and may be substituted by any other known construction of lock to be released or unlocked by the introduction of a coin. r

The supporting-standard B is made,lby

preference,tubular, being constructed ofa section of gas-pipe or other tube fastened atv its bottom end to a flanged foot and having a box 0 fastened upon its upper end. An opening Z is made in the bottom of the box, communicating with the upper end of the tubular standard, as shown in Fig. 3. In the preferred construction a small weight F is providedywhich is capable of sliding freely up and down within the tubular standard, but

is too large to pass out through the opening Z, and to this weight is attached a chain G, the other end of which is connected to the opera-glass;- When the glass is takeni'rom the box 0, more or less of the chain is pulled out of the standard 13 and the weight Fis lifted. In ordinary use the chain will be pulled until the weight is at or near the top of its travel, where it will be held by the chain which hangs over the upper edge of the-box, as shown in Fig. 5, the remaining portion of the'chain outsideof thebox hangingslack.

Preferably the opera-glass is provided with a handle H, which is hinged to it, so that the glass may be turned on the handle, and the chain G is connected to theopposite end of this handle. When in use, the opera-glass is turned horizontally, while the handle 11 is 'held vertically, as shown in Fig. 5. The glass and handle might be joined rigidly together in these relative positions; but this would necessitate making the box 0 unduly wide. To enable the 'box to be made narrower, the opera-glass is pivoted to the handle, so that it can be turned up vertically and dropped into the box, the handle being first introduced through the opening Z into the upper end ot' the tubular standard; as shownin Fig. When the glass and handle are lifted out, the glass is turned horizontally to either oneside or the other, as shown inone case in fulllines and in the other case in dotted lines in Fig. 5. To admit of the glass being thus turned, the handle is constructed with the pivotal connection shown best in Fig-6. The pivotal section m of the handle is fastened to the or yoke at the outer end of the opera-glass.

This pivotal section m is provided with ears, which are pivoted to the head of the handle through the medium of a bolt or pintle, so that it may be turned with suitable friction to any position within an arc of about one hundred and eighty degrees, being stopped at the limit of its movement by the abutment of stop-faces n or n on the section m against one side or other of the head of the handle. The pivotal axis is arranged considerably out of the axial plane or plane of vision of the opera-glass, so that the glass when turned to one side stands at a lower level than when turned to the other, as indicated by a comparison of the full and dotted lines in Fig. 5. Hence by turning the glass to one side or the other the handle is virtually lengthened or shortened. When the auditor is through using the glass, he will drop it into the box C, first letting the chain G run down thereinto under pull of the weight F, and then thrusting the handle I-I into the standard and dropping the glass into the box. After the audience has departed an attendant will inspect the glasses and close the boxes, relocking the latter by thrusting a suitable key through a keyhole 19, Fig. 4, against the end of the slidef, whereby he pushes the latter back to the position shown, so that the plate 6 re-engages the hasp c.

Fig. 7 shows amodified construction, wherein the standard 13 is somewhat shorter and is fastened at its foot to the lower part of the frame of the theater-chair. The arm A is made short and the box G is placed close against it, and is formedpreferably on its outer end with a continuation A of the arm, so that in this case the box constitutes, virtually, a part or section of the arm of the chair. Instead of the standard 13 and box 0 being made as a separate attachment to the chair, they may be constructed permanently as a part of the chair and integrally therewith, if desired.

My invention provides an opera-glass-rental apparatus which is entirely out of the way of people passing between the rows of chairs, in which the glass is in the most convenient position, and by which the glass can be chained to its support without the chain interfering with the passage of persons between the rows of chairs. The chain is so applied that it is no inconvenience to the user of the glass, while it insures practically against the carrying away of the glass and determines the restoration of the glass to its own proper box or holder. The handle constitutes a convenient means for holding the glass to the eyes, and also constitutes a full safeguard against the stealing of the glasses.

I claim as my invention the following-de fined novel features or improvements, substantially as hereinbefore specified, namely:

1. In an opera-glass-rental apparatus, the combination of a tubular supporting-standard, an opera-glass holder thereon, an operaglass, a chain for attaching the glass to the standard, and a weight to which said chain is fastened, adapted to slide within said standard and thereby to draw the chain into the standard when the glass is put in place in the holder.

2. In an opera-glass-rental apparatus, the combination of a tubular standard, an operaglass holder on the top thereof formed with a contracted opening communicating with the interior of the standard, a weight adapted to slide within the standard, but incapable of passing out through said opening, an operaglass, and a chain connected at one end to said glass and at the other end to said weight, whereby the weight acts to draw the chain into the standard when the glass is placed in the holder.

3. In an opera-glass-rental apparatus, the combination, with an opera-glass and a holder having a tubular socket, of a handle pivoted to the opera-glass, so that the glass may be turned in line with the handle when in place in the holder or may be turned at right angles thereto when in use.

4. The combination, with an opera-glass, of a handle constructed with a pivoted section fastened to the glass and adapted to turn through approximately half a circle, whereby the glass may be turned from a position at right angles to the handle on one side to a position at right angles thereto on the opposite side, and with the pivotal axis arranged out of the axial plane of the opera-glass, whereby the glass when turned to one side shall stand at a higher level than when turned to the other.

5. In an opera-glass-rental apparatus, a box for holding theopera-glass open at its top and a cover for closing its top, pivoted to it on one side by means of a spring-hinge, the axis of which is exterior to the side of the box, so that the cover when released is thrown by the spring against the side of thebox, and a coin-released lock for holding the cover closed.

In witness whereof I have hereunto signed my name in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

JAMES WVILLIAM PATTERSON.

WVitnesses:

GEORGE H. FRASER, CHARLES K. FRASER. 

